Previously, articles have discussed the encounter we have with Christ at every Mass.
Tag: active
Adaptation and renewal of Religious Life: Role of ‘active,’ apostolic Religious
Editor’s note: During this Year of Consecrated Life, this is the seventh in a series based on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Perfectae Caritatis (Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) written by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine order who now resides in Madison.
In this commentary on the decree of the Second Vatican Council Decree On the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life, we have reflected upon the meaning of Religious Life expressed by the council fathers.
The fathers gave special attention to the two main expressions of Religious Life in the Western Church: 1) the contemplative and/or monastic life; 2) the active and/or missionary life.
In the previous installment, we reflected upon the contemplative expression of Religious Life. This seventh reflection will consider the council’s teaching on the “active” or apostolic expression of the special call to Religious Life.
Bless Our Priests collection
MADISON — All of us have been blessed to receive the sacraments in our lifetime by a faithful priest serving in our parish. The impact our parish priest has on our lives has shaped us into the Catholics we are today.
The Bless Our Priests collection gives us the opportunity to give back to those priests for all they have done for us throughout our lives.
As more and more of our diocesan priests reach retirement age, the need for support continues to grow. Not only do they need your continued prayers, but your financial support of the Bless Our Priests collection.
Vaccinating our children for sexually transmitted diseases
Last month, an advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta recommended that nine- to 12-year-old boys be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus transmitted through sexual contact. The goal of the recommendations was to prevent cancers caused by HPV, such as certain cancers of the digestive tract.
The same committee had already recommended, back in March of 2007, that girls and young women between the ages of nine and 26 be vaccinated against HPV, to help prevent various cancers of the reproductive tract, such as cervical cancer.
Raises ethical concerns
While the motivation to prevent cancer and diseases is clearly good, a universal recommendation of this type raises ethical concerns. Because the recommendations of the committee relate to important aspects of human behavior and sexuality at formative ages for children and adolescents, parents need to look at the psychological and social messages they might be conveying by choosing to vaccinate their children against HPV.